Persija Jakarta Appoints Shin Tae-yong as Head Coach

Football club Persija Jakarta has officially appointed Shin Tae-yong, the former coach of the Indonesian national team, as its new head coach. He will lead the team through the 2026/2027 Super League season under a three-year contract, taking over from Mauricio Souza.

Persija President Mohamad Prapanca expressed his hope that Shin Tae-yong's appointment will usher in a new era of success for the Jakarta-based club, which fell short of its championship goals last season. "We hope this choice will be a turning point for Persija's future," Prapanca stated at Shin Tae-yong's introduction ceremony.

The search for a new coach began during the latter half of the 2025/2026 Super League season, as Persija lost momentum in the title race after a winless streak of three matches. The team ultimately finished third, eight points behind champions Persib Bandung.

Shin Tae-yong is a familiar figure in Indonesian football, having coached the national team for five years. While he did not secure a championship title, he is credited with improving the national team's competitiveness in Asia. Under his guidance, Indonesia reached the Round of 16 in the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, secured fourth place in the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup, and qualified for the third round of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers and the 2027 AFC Asian Cup. His tenure also saw Indonesia's FIFA ranking rise from 173 to 129.

After his contract with the national team ended in January 2025, Shin returned to South Korea. He briefly served as Vice President of the Korea Football Association before becoming head coach of Ulsan HD. He then accepted Persija's offer, marking one of the club's most ambitious moves in recent seasons, with management banking on his international experience to help the team contend for the championship.